Importance of women in the workforce

Bongiwe Nkomazana

Diversity is a beautiful thing no matter the set up. Too much of anything can make you sick in all honesty. This is why I have never understood the concept of same-sex schools. Like how is it healthy for boys to only interact with boys?

MAY 1, also known as “May Day”, is Workers’ Day. The way I am wired is in such a way that I stretch out all celebrations as thinly as I can get away with so instead of just one day, the whole month of May is workers’ month in my head. I read up on the history of May Day; how it came to be and what it truly meant as far as the workforce is concerned.

It was a long read, riddled with big terms but what I got was that May Day became a focal point for demonstrations. So, what better way to demonstrate for gender equality in the work place than on this column and in the month of May? Don’t worry.

This won’t be an aggressive demonstration. Rather, I’d like to demonstrate how far women have come in the labour force. Hopefully, focusing on the positive outcomes of women working will continue to convince every one of us to integrate them as well as we do men.

Before we proceed, it seems there is a difference between the terms “working women” and “women in the work force”.

However, in this article we will be using the terms loosely, interchangeably — basically to mean the same thing. Perfectionists will have to bear with me.

The workforce has become very broad and diverse due to a number of factors like new needs that have created a market for new skills; think yoga and vegan products; and the economic meltdown that has led to people working in all sorts of ways to make a dollar — I do not need to give examples for this. I know you know exactly what I am talking about. My point is that the workforce is not just confined to the offices or factories anymore. Workers come in many forms.

Unfortunately, in those many forms, women still find themselves significantly low in numbers compared to men. Staying on the bright side as promised, the female workforce participation has definitely increased from, say, two decades ago.

More and more women are being employed and given the opportunities to propel economically. I can only hope that soon, this will not be done only to keep up appearances and follow procedure but it will be a true reflection of the confidence people will have in the working woman’s capabilities.

The Centre for Creative Leadership explains that besides doubling the talent pool, recruiting women into an organisation may increase a company’s financial performance. You see, if I were the owner of a company I would be sold just by that statement alone.

For some reason, women bring “that thing” to an organisation that makes work more meaningful and less strenuous whereby making the team more dedicated and satisfied.

Organisations that do not realise the importance of women in the workplace are surely missing out on a handful of benefits.

This is not how real life societies are set up so why subject them to that false reality when they will have to eventually be released into real life? In fact, the colonisers knew exactly what they were doing when they would separate black men from black women.

They knew that that separation and lack of female contribution would hinder any progress, any motivation and any happiness and new ideas from emerging.

Prerna Raturi says that diversity at work brings together different kinds of energies that complement each other. In a male-dominated culture, the workplace loses out on all that women bring to the table i.e. multitasking, customer-centricity, teamwork, and a nurturing mindset and so on.

Some men have this but remember when we talk about how men and women are different biologically? This is it. Women are more inclined to these characteristics so why not reel them in? Pair that up with that ‘shero’ force within them and you will be in the winning team.

Who knows what a woman wants more than a woman? That’s right . . . a woman. Who knows what a man wants more than a man? Still a woman! I am joking on the last part but I have seen cases where women are left out of processes that are for women.

I won’t mention any names but one sanitary wear brand team I came across at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair held recently was made up of men alone. That made no sense to me. Placing women at the fore-front would not only be strategic but it would be the right thing to do.

Most women are not even comfortable talking to their gynaecologist about the happenings of their lilies let alone random men. Industries that are male-dominated or organisations that have not taken up gender inclusion lack innovation because of biased perceptions. Allow women to be a part of the conceptualisation, design, and strategising of ways to sell services and products. It’s all about representation and inclusion.

Last but certainly not least, it is crucial to have more women in the workforce in order to empower them financially. In fact, women economic empowerment and financial inclusion has been recognised as key to achieving the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development.

When a woman is financially able she is not only giving back to the economy but her quality of life is improved because she has access to things like health-care, nutritious food etc.

Also, her financial muscle goes a long way into helping other people, be it her children, extended family and friends. Dr James Aggrey’s famous saying summarises this beautifully and sufficiently.

“If you educate a man, you educate an individual but if you educate a woman, you educate a nation”. When girls are educated, their countries become stronger and more prosperous. Whatever a woman has is of benefit to more than just her.